Kane scores late penalty, Spurs snatch 2-2 draw at Liverpool

By STEVE DOUGLAS -

2/4/18 3:17 PM

LIVERPOOL, England — Harry Kane scored an injury-time penalty after missing from the spot late in normal time to rescue a 2-2 draw for Tottenham against Liverpool in a chaotic Premier League game on Sunday.

Mohamed Salah, who opened the scoring for Liverpool in the third minute, looked like he’d clinched victory with a wonderful individual goal in the first minute of injury time.

There was still time for Virgil van Dijk to kick Erik Lamela in the area — a foul only awarded following the intervention of the assistant referee — and Kane converted his second penalty of the game in the fifth minute of stoppage time. That took him to 100 Premier League goals in just 141 games.

Kane had a poor spot kick palmed away by goalkeeper Loris Karius in the 87th minute when the score was 1-1 and looked to the skies after Salah made it 2-1, thinking he’d cost his side.

“He is one of the best strikers in the world,” Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino said. “He can miss a penalty, a chance … but he has the personality.” Pochettino said Kane had “big balls” to score so many EPL goals and to have taken the second penalty soon after missing the first.

Victor Wanyama equalized for Tottenham with an unstoppable 30-meter strike in the 80th, moments after coming on as a substitute. That goal ended up being overshadowed by what happened in the dramatic final minutes that left Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp furious.

Klopp felt neither penalty should have been awarded, with the first coming after Kane received the ball in an offside position from Christian Eriksen’s pass. Offside wasn’t awarded because Dejan Lovren got a touch to the ball, meaning a new phase of play had started.

For the second penalty, he was bemused that referee Jon Moss got over-ruled by his assistant, despite being in a good position to make the call over whether Van Dijk fouled Lamela.

“He wanted to be middle of interest,” Klopp said of the assistant referee, “and he is.”

Two points still separate the teams in the race for Champions League qualification, with Liverpool in third and Tottenham in fifth place with 12 games left.

Spurs were looking to back up their dominant 2-0 win over Man United at home four days earlier, but made the worst possible start at a ground where they have only won once since 1993.

In attempting to dispossess Sadio Mane, Eric Dier only succeeded in meekly prodding the ball toward his own goal and Salah pounced, sprinting clear of Davinson Sanchez and burying a low, angled shot into the corner.

In doing so, the Egypt international became the quickest Liverpool player to reach 20 Premier League goal — in 25 games, two faster than Fernando Torres.

Liverpool’s players were sharper and hungrier in the first half, swarming all over their opponents and forcing mistakes. It was just what Spurs did to United on Wednesday.

Only in the second half did Tottenham finally start to look dangerous, with Dele Alli slipping a ball through and Son Heung-min seeing a shot smothered by Karius. Alli was then booked for diving — for the second time this season — after falling under a challenge from Dejan Lovren.

The last 15 minutes were wild.

Karius opted to punch away a cross from the left rather than attempt to catch it, and was punished when Wanyama met the clearance with a rising, first-time strike that flew inside the post.

Karius made amends by saving Kane’s penalty before Salah scored the type of solo goal Lionel Messi would be proud of.

Just inside the area on the right, Salah wriggled past Ben Davies then cut inside and slipped between Davies and Jan Vertonghen. As goalkeeper Hugo Lloris rushed out, Salah lifted his finish high into the net.

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